By
Bhushan Akolkar
May 7th, 2024
Amidst the $DED frenzy, Polkadot’s on-chain activity has experienced a notable upswing. Transaction fees on the relay chain reached an all-time high of $2.6 million between December 18 and 25.
In a bold move, the Polkadot community has birthed its first meme coin $DED with an unconventional approach that sets it apart from the typical crypto project.
Unlike traditional meme coins $DED has taken a decentralized and transparent approach to its launch, with no team allocation or presale. Instead, it relies on a fair token distribution plan through free airdrops, targeting holders of Polkadot’s native token DOT.
$DED’s Community-Led Surge
This innovative strategy has rapidly garnered support from the active Polkadot community, leading to an unprecedented surge in engagement within just 12 days of its introduction. The Telegram group, a vital indicator of community interest, has exploded from zero to over 4,800 members and continues to grow. Multiple polls show that $DED has the biggest community on Polkadot at the moment.
The organic growth of $DED mirrors the trajectories of iconic meme coins like Dogecoin (DOGE) and Shiba Inu (SHIB), emphasizing fair token distribution through airdrops to DOT holders as a key factor in its success.
The $DED community, actively involved in the project’s creation, has harnessed the grassroots culture of Polkadot to promote the memecoin. Leveraging a fair and linear token distribution plan, coupled with humorous memes and inside jokes celebrating DED, the community has become a driving force in marketing and growing the project.
“The $DED coin is a testament to the strength of the Polkadot community,” said Giotto De Filippi, DOT Activist and $DED coin enthusiast. “The dedicated Polkadot community have built this from the ground up in a completely permissionless, decentralized, and transparent way while bringing back the fun and whimsy that made many meme coins successful in their own right.”
$DED’s credibility is further bolstered by support from key players in the Polkadot ecosystem, including Decentralized Exchanges (DEXs) and wallets such as Nova Wallet, Stella Swap, Talisman, and SubWallet. These platforms have expressed their intention to support $DED, signaling a collaborative effort to facilitate the token’s adoption. The backing from major industry players highlights the legitimacy of $DED despite its classification as a meme coin.
Polkadot’s Growing Influence
Amidst the $DED frenzy, Polkadot’s on-chain activity has experienced a notable upswing. Transaction fees on the relay chain reached an all-time high of $2.6 million between December 18 and 25.
This surge coincided with a 200% increase in daily active users, averaging 15,300 on the Polkadot network. The spike in on-chain activity is attributed to a remarkable increase in staking. Currently, over 709 million DOT tokens staked to secure the network.
Furthermore, the blockchain interoperability platform recently entered the gaming world through a collaboration with Parity Technologies and Unity Games. This partnership facilitates Polkadot’s integration with the game engine powering popular titles like Pokémon Go and Call of Duty Mobile. This notably adds another layer of utility to the platform.
Currently, DOT is trading at $7.7 down 9.79% in the past 24 hours, and boasts of a market capitalization of $10.1 billion and a 24-hour trading volume of $681 million, representing a 117.56% increase in the past 24 hours.